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ROLL TIDE!! Rick
A family affair For Shulas, balancing football and family is a way of life
By Christopher Walsh Sports Writer June 20, 2004
TUSCALOOSA | Imagine for a moment that your father was the most successful person in the world at something, and you were in the same line of work.
That’s everyday life for University of Alabama football coach Mike Shula. His father Don retired in 1995 as the National Football League’s all-time winningest coach (347-173-6), holds the NFL record for having coached in six Super Bowls and engineered the only perfect season in league history.
The Shula name became synonymous with coaching greatness, but when people ask Mike -- and they frequently do -- if it can also be a curse at times because of high expectations, he and his brother hardly have to hesitate.
“It’s a blessing for all the right reasons," said older brother Dave, a former head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals.
And it also doesn’t mean a thing after a play is called.
“No one is going to expect more out of me than I do," Mike Shula said. “We put our jobs on the line every week, regardless of what our last names are."
When Alabama hired Mike Shula on May 8, 2003, it not only added a new coach, but also inherited both the pedigree and the legend himself to serve as a sort of unofficial godfather to the program. That’s just the way it is with the Shulas, who call the family close, yet the father and sons have a relationship that few can relate to.
For example, at age 33, Don Shula was the youngest head coach in NFL history with the Baltimore Colts.
When he was hired, Mike Shula was the second-youngest Division I head coach, a year and two days older than Greg Schianno of Rutgers.
Mike Shula, who just celebrated his 39th birthday on June 3, is also the youngest head football coach in Alabama’s modern era.
Dave, who compiled a 19-52 record over four years in Cincinnati, is the only coach in NFL history to oppose his father, on Oct. 2, 1994 and Oct. 1, 1995, with both games played at Riverfront Stadium.
“It was really a tough situation," Don Shula said. “My family made it known to me that week, 'Dad, we hope you understand, but we’re going to be rooting for Dave.’"
Don won both, the second game decided by a last-minute drive directed by Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino.
“I was happy for our team, but Dave was broken-hearted," Don Shula said.
But being in the spotlight isn’t new for any of the Shulas. Dave and Mike had to deal with it at an early age, as did sisters Annie, Sharon and Donna.
“There was always tons of attention in whatever you did," said Dave Shula, who’s six years older than Mike. “On the first day of school your name would be called out and everyone’s head would turn. Some of the looks would be favorable, some would not."
“It didn’t take long to find out who your real friends were," Mike Shula said.
However, there were classmates in similar situations, primarily the kids of other coaches and former Miami Dolphins. Mike still stays in touch with many of them, like the kids of quarterback Bob Griese.
“I benefited from being the youngest of five, so all the things that you were going to go through as a son or daughter of Don Shula I was going to be able to watch my brothers and sisters go through it," Mike Shula said. “I also had help along the way."
By help, Mike meant his mother Dorothy, who naturally was around more than her husband. She died in 1991.
But there was also football, with the boys in particular becoming gym rats.
“It was one way to spend time with him, a male-bonding type of thing," Dave Shula said.
But back then not even pro teams had the multi-million dollar facilities like they do today, and training camps began right after July 4th. The Shula boys did everything from help plant grass seeds and painting the locker room to cleaning the bathrooms and helping out with laundry.
On game days, they worked their way up, from filling cups or water or Gatorade, to being a ball boy and eventually helping out some of the assistant coaches.
Perhaps it was only a matter of time before they both took to the field themselves, with Mike becoming a quarterback.
“The best thing was in high school, my senior year they had the [NFL] strike and every week they thought the strike would resolved and they would game plan until Tuesday," Mike Shula said. “If it wasn’t resolved they [would cancel] and go to the next week. So after Tuesday he would have a lot of time on his hands. He would bring the projector home and I would bring the film home and on Wednesday and Thursday we would watch film on my upcoming opponent.
“He taught me how to watch film and what to look for and this and that. Every now and then he’d have a suggestion."
Those sessions helped Mike’s ability to see the big picture, encourage his calculating nature and attention to detail. He cherishes those times, perhaps even more than when his 74-year-old father shows up for a fund-raising golf tournament or a game, but they were also instrumental in his development as a coach.
“There are a lot of decisions that you have to make that aren’t going to make everyone happy," Mike Shula said. “When I was an assistant or a coordinator, I wouldn’t understand why the head coach made them. Now they’re decisions that I have to make. Sometimes it’s not the ideal decision, but it’s the best one for everyone."
The same goes for family life. Griese was once quoted saying that if a person wants to disappear all they have to do is become a NFL assistant coach. Mike Shula was a NFL assistant coach or coordinator for 15 years.
“It’s tough," said Mike Shula, who’s married with two young daughters. “Never enough time, and then the time you do spend with your family never seems like it’s enough for the other people. You get past it. What I learned over the years, and just listening to people, is that you have to find a happy medium and what people are comfortable with."
The college game isn’t much different in that respect. For example, the family of offensive coordinator Dave Rader just moved to Tuscaloosa.
That’s part of life for a football family, even the ones with good bloodlines.
“I think we both pretty much know what each other is thinking and how each other feels," Don Shula said. “We discuss games and talk situations and plays."
Now imagine how hard it would be to come up with a Father’s Day gift for a man who already has a golf course and major Florida highway named after him, never mind one of the county’s largest steakhouse franchises.
So for today, Mike sent a framed enlarged picture regarding of one of their other shared passions: golf. It’s of Don and his two sons standing on Hogan Bridge, at the legendary 12th hole of Amen Corner, from when they recently played at Augusta National Golf Club.
Mike had a copy made for both himself and Dave.
“My dad, as much time as he had, was always there to help us," Mike Shula said.
Christopher Walsh can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or at (205) 722-0196.
http://www.tidesports.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040620/NEWS/406200372/1011
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